Summer special: from the colder climes of The Alps and the Himalayas

These are two paintings of Matterhorn (again!! tell me when to stop ) and Manali ( India) ...Painting trees has been a learning experience every time... figuring out how to concentrate on which value, when I can see so many in even a little spot.... driving me to the point of frustration sometimes...

I've discovered that painting buildings is another thing that I'm quite bad at... how to get beautiful brushstrokes keeping in mind the geometry and the straight lines is beyond me at the moment.

Comments

You bring up a good point about when the supposedly spontaneous brush stroke meets the straight line. How is the brush stroke to look spontaneous when it isn't supposed to cross the vertical line and there is a sudden crash and therefore a build up of paint? Well, sometimes when the paint underneath allows, I hold thin paper or card stock slightly perpendicular to the canvas to allow the brush stroke to complete its journey. This is probably what you have been doing already. Just a thought.

@Summer : yes... i use a plastic ruler that I broke to different small sizes .... sometimes i draw in the straight lines before i start painting.. leaving remnants of the line visible through the paint as i progress, finally drawing the lines at the end

straight lines don't seem to be a big problem here but the earth tones in front of the building could be changed to better distinguish the earth from the floor/foundation. That may be what it is in the source but I would indulge some artistic license to improve the aesthetics for the viewer. sometimes a palette knife helps with straight lines. The trees are wonderful. when you are close to the canvas you can't see the tree you see the paint. Step back six feet or so and you see lifelike trees. Those spruces and fir trees I've seen in Germany look almost black except with a low sun on a clear day. When the sun is high, they are standing in their own shadows. The snow on the Matterhorn is reflecting the sky color perfectly too. These are both spectacular paintings.